NBC's Williams: Journalists' Gloves Off

[otohara]

By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer

September 11,2005 | NEW YORK -- NBC's Brian Williams says the lasting legacy of Hurricane Katrina for journalists may be the end of an unusual four-year period of deference to people in power.

There were so many angry, even incredulous, questions put to Bush administration officials about the response to Katrina that the Salon Web site compiled a "Reporters Gone Wild" video clip. Tim Russert, Anderson Cooper, Ted Koppel and Shepard Smith were among the stars.

The mute button seemingly in place since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been turned off.

"By dint of the fact that our country was hit we've offered a preponderance of the benefit of the doubt over the past couple of years," the "Nightly News" anchorman said. "Perhaps we've taken something off our fastball and perhaps this is the story that brings a healthy amount of cynicism back to a news media known for it."

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8CI71F82.html

Brian Williams Blog - The Daily Nightly

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8045532/

[ananda]

1. It looks to me as if..

.. Brian Williams was truly shocked and awed by what he saw going on, and not going on, in and around NOLA..

.. and he wants to be honest about it.

How far will he go? That's a good guess, but my suspicion is not that far.. but farther than usual.

Sue

[howmad1]

11. Gimmee a break.

Brian Williams works for G.E., one of the country's largest arms suppliers. His loyalty and honesty will only be as good as a guarantee that he gets his paycheck. Remember what a toady to the rethuglicans he was before and during the election. I don't trust anyone from the MSM, no matter how incensed they were about NOLA. Remember, it's all about ratings and show business. Time will certainly tell but I don't have much hope that the MSM will turn around any time soon. To many billions of dollars are at stake.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. The mute button was on before Sept. 11, 2001

Moreover, the pro-Republican bias of the press was obvious long before that. I first noticed it during the 1980 campaign.

[kenny blankenship]

3. Cynicism has been in no short supply the last 5 years.

It's the skepticism that's been missing. How I wish that these people, who're being paid ungodly sums of money to read the news--frequently cribbed verbatim from White House Press Releases and GOP position papers--understood the difference between these two simple terms.

[Kurovski]

4. "... an unusual four-year period of deference to people in power."

It's only unusual in healthy Democracies. It's quite usual in countries where dictators and fascism are on the rise, or where such things are already established.

[tedoll78]

5. Too little, too late. Dammit.

Thanks a lot, media. Now we're stuck with a really shitty generation of Bush court appointees.

[Skittles]

6. the toll from their bush whoring is staggering

a pass on 9/11, the biggest security failure ever in the US; 1900 dead troops, thousands of Iraqi civilians killed from the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history; economy in shambles, millions of lost jobs; four years of rising poverty; dead and dying people in the gulf states - it is obscene; these bastards in the media, finally taking a break from sh** like missing white girls, these f***ers who "just woke up", better not be expecting any accolades

[tedoll78]

8. I'm incredibly bitter..

and I will be bitter for a long time. I imagine all of those people still alive. Our troops home. Our deficit not nearly as deep. John Kerry or Al Gore appointing Rehnquist and O'Connor's replacements.

In my book, the media will never pay back for the conspired damage it has done to this country.

[Skittles]

14. I am with you there

all thse indignant editiorials - where the f*** have they been before this?

[Uncle Joe]

15. The corpwhorate owned MSM

enabled the corrupt/incompetent ones to power long before 2000, all for their own agenda. I have posted on this subject on this thread, click on link for details.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4725427

[patomime]

16. ...I'm with you.....

brilliantly put!:beer:

[Old and In the Way]

7. effects of anthrax are wearing off.

[Patsy Stone]

9. He was amazing on TDS the other night.

This is indeed an important turning point for the media.

[indepat]

10. Brian (My Friend) Williams has been so deferential to those in power that

any feeble effort to rectify his gross dereliction to ideals expressed in the Pulitzer Credo, IMHO, will be too little to late unless he is as un-deferential to those in power these next 40 months as he has been deferential.

[burythehatchet]

12. Its remarakable to see people gush over a news reader

who declares his outrage after the majority of people already know the real deal.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

13. he's just imitating hottie Anderson Cooper

He's a Anderson wannabee, but heck, if all of the "journalists" want to imitate the "Coop", so be it.

However, I feel that the media has been pretty much criminal in their
failure to perform their duty during our years of W-HELL.